Moments
by twilightstargazer
Summary: A series of quick, unrelated drabbles surrounding everyone's favourite couple. L/J.
1. Jealousy

_**A/N: Another day, another fanfic. During the past couple of weeks I ended up accumulating quite a few fics that aren't quite long enough to stand on their own and, other than posting them on tumblr, I did nothing with them- and didn't intend on doing anything with them- until today I realised that I have about twenty drabble like things sitting on my computer, doing nothing. So I decided to post them. Yay.**_

_**As usual, I own nothing Harry Potter related other than a quidditch jersey.**_

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**Jealousy**

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The classroom was abuzz with activity as students happily chatted away with their assigned partners. Professor Flitwick had paired them up and asked them to write an essay on the history of the Patronus charm which was to be handed up by the time class had ended.

Lily was paired with Sirius Black, and though she knew that she should have been paying more attention to the half finished essay in front of them, her mind kept wandering over to another Marauder. In fact, it was the same Marauder who was currently laughing it up with Margaret Barberry, a seventh year Ravenclaw. The brunette leaned in closer to the bespectacled boy and murmured something causing him to snort with mirth. Lily felt her teeth clench.

After a while, Sirius noticed that his partner was paying less attention to the parchment and more attention to the laughing couple two seats ahead. Or, more appropriately, _glaring_ at the laughing couple two seats ahead. A smirk threatened to make itself known when he realised this fact, and he wanted nothing better than to make an innocent quip about her newfound interest. Instead, he leaned over until his mouth was right by her ear.

"They're rather annoying, aren't they, tittering away like," he muttered lowly in her ear, carefully watching her expression.

Her eyes narrowed at the Ravenclaw and, without thinking, replied, "Yes; she should stop distracting him like that."

It was only when she heard Sirius' muffled laughter did she realise what she just said. Lily turned around in her seat, eyes wide and a bright blush decorating her cheeks. "I- what I meant was-" she stammered, grasping at straws to try and justify her answer. This of course caused Sirius to laugh even more, not even bothering to try and hide it anymore. Still blushing, Lily couldn't help but to roll her eyes and muttered wryly, "Well I'm glad you find this whole situation funny."

His eyes glinted with a mixture of mischief and amusement. "Chin up, Evans; jealousy doesn't suit you," he said, causing the red head to sputter indignantly and, if possible, her blush to darken.

"I am not jealous!" she squawked angrily after sometime. Sirius hummed lazily and continued scratching out words on the parchment.

"Of course you're not," he mumbled condescendingly, continuing to work on the essay and missing the glare Lily threw his way. Slowly, she went back to reading about the charm, and soon enough the two of them were back on track.

That is, until James thundered a laugh again.

Sirius glanced at his partner from under his eyelashes and caught her glaring at Barberry once more. He coughed lightly and surreptitiously knocked into her elbow, all while giving her a meaningful look. This routine continued for nearly the rest of the period. Every time James laughed at something Margaret said, Lily would glare at them until Sirius knocked her out of it. He pitied the poor girl who was the unfortunate sod to have the red head's fury directed at her. If looks could kill, Margaret would nothing more than a pile designer perfume smelling ashes.

Despite all of their interruptions, they still managed to get their essay done before half the class. Sirius was just scrawling something into the last line when he heard the obvious crack of someone's quill breaking. He looked up and found Lily holding a broken quill clenched tightly between her fingers while glaring at Margaret with such intensity, that Sirius was surprised that she didn't spontaneously combust. His quickly flickered over to the couple, only to find the brunette's hand resting comfortably against James' shoulder while both of their heads were closely bent together over the parchment. At least Sirius hoped it was the parchment. He glanced back at Lily who, when realised that she was being stared at, was jarred out of her reverie. She refused to meet Sirius' eye.

"Done? Great," Lily said in a clipped tone. She grabbed the parchment from the desk and stalked off to the front of the classroom where she handed it to Flitwick. She walked back down the aisle between the desks. Sirius noticed her slow down ever so slightly as she neared James' desk and furtively tipped over the inkwell, causing it to fall to the ground and shatter, sending ink flying everywhere, especially on Margaret Barberry. There was a shriek from both girls and Lily hastily apologised, using a saccharine tone that barely concealed the venom dripping from her voice. The other girl's shirt was flecked with blue ink as well as her arms, legs and face. After vanishing the mess, Lily apologised to her one more time before flaunting back to her seat.

"Not jealous, eh?" said Sirius, eying the red head who was trying her best not to look overly smug. "If that's you being 'not jealous' then I'd hate to see what you'd do if you actually were."

Lily rolled her eyes, the green orbs betraying her satisfaction at her work. "Shut up," she mumbled at him, finally giving into the smirk that she had been fighting off. Sirius did as she asked, but made a mental note to mention this to James after the lesson. After all, if things continued to go this way, Lily might hex anyone who so much so looked at his best mate with any vague form of interest.

Sirius glanced up once more and found that James was helping the girl clean the blue droplets off of her uniform while Lily's smile had dropped and she was glaring again, this time fingering her wand.

Sirius grinned.

He was _so_ going to tell James.

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**_Reviews are James' reaction to finding out that Evans fancies him_**


	2. Sick

_**A/N: I had fun writing this one. There's a bit of borderline naughtiness (not much) so you can look out for that. Thanks to dance4ever95, theHalfBloodPhoenix, bloodyhell-ronald and Neko-chan2604 for reviewing the last chapter.**_

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**Sick**

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James Potter was a miserable human being who swore that as soon as he could move without the goddamn room spinning, he was going to hunt down Sirius and flay him alive.

He had quidditch practice yesterday and during the practice, he gave Sirius his wand to hold onto. Of course, both of them had forgotten and Sirius had only remembered when he was safe and sound inside the castle's walls. And where was James you might ask? He was outside, in the midst of a storm, clearing up after practice without a wand to cast a single spell on himself leaving him at the mercy of the squall. When he had finally- oh sweet Merlin and Circe _finally_- finished repacking, James was cold and miserable and felt as though he was drenched to the bones.

And that was when the first sneeze hit.

It was practically a Hogwarts curse that whenever you get wet in the rain and sneeze immediately after, you were, without a doubt, going to get sick. Even the worst Divination student in the world could have told you that. Which is why James panicked. He had a quidditch match on Saturday, damn it! He couldn't get sick now! Unfortunately, fate had other plans for him. During the trip from the quidditch pitch to Gryffindor tower, he counted at least fourteen more and the beginnings of a cough as well. When he finally stumbled up the dormitory steps, he was bleary eyed and his throat had a permanent itch. He searched around for some Pepper up potion, but obviously since fate was being a little bitch to him, there wasn't a single vial in sight.

(Well there was one that he found in Peter's trunk, but even though he wasn't a potions master, James was absolutely certain that it wasn't supposed to be congealed like that)

Which is why, the next morning he walk up with a stuffy nose, nearly no voice whatsoever and muscles that hurt even if it was to just breathe. Remus told him that he ought to stay in bed, but James ignored him. He promised Lily that he would meet her early this morning to discuss planning another prefects' meeting. However, as soon as he through his feet over the edge of the mattress, a wave of dizziness hit him so hard that he didn't know which way was up and which was down. He soon conceded with Remus and crawled back under the covers where he was certain he was going to die.

The door to dormitory opened causing James to hiss like an angry cat as he burrowed under his blankets. A tinkling laugh sounded from the doorway and he patted around for his glasses before poking his head out to the side to see his uninvited visitor. Standing right there was Lily Evans in all her glory. She was wearing her uniform and her hair was bounded in a high pony tail. A messenger bag hung off of one shoulder and she had her wand grasped in her hand. James was suddenly aware that he was in a ratty pair of flannel pyjama pants and an old t shirt with pillow creases on his cheek and a horrendous case of bed hair while Lily Evans was with him. Alone. In his dormitory.

Merlin help him.

"What are you doing here?" he asked. His voice was gravelly and cracked in some places. It hurt to talk. "Don't you have class?"

"Charms in fact," she said easily, flicking her wand so a tray flew on to his bedside table. There was a platter of sandwiches and a flask of pumpkin juice. Normally James would have welcomed the food, but just the sight alone made his stomach churn uncomfortably. Lily seemed to realise this (or just noticed that he was rapidly turning green) and riffled around her bag before tossing him a vial with a light blue potion. "That should help," she said. He uncorked it and downed it in one go, ignoring the bitter aftertaste. His stomach calmed at once and he shot her a grateful look.

"Do you by chance have anything for sore throats in your bag of tricks?" he asked, wincing slightly. It felt as though his throat was rubbed raw. Lily nodded and tossed him another vial, though this one was lilac in colour. He took that as well. "Lily Evans, you goddess," he said appreciatively, finally being able to talk properly.

Lily blushed slightly at the compliment and continued looking in her bag for something. Eventually she pulled out three more vials of an amber coloured potion, one that James knew to be Pepper up potion. She walked over to his bed and daintily seated herself on the edge, toeing off her shoes.

"How come you're not awing Flitwick with your charms prowess?" he asked as she made herself comfortable. He tried to ignore the fact that she was sitting next to him in bed in an empty dormitory. There was a fine line that he walked when it came to flirting with her. He had to watch out just in case he crossed it.

_Mind out of the gutter, Potter,_ he thought as her shoulder rubbed against his. There had to be something wrong if that was all he could think of while he was sick in bed. He really was head over arse.

"I told Flitwick that I had super important top secret Head duties to discuss with the Head Boy," she said easily, passing him the tray. "And we were only reviewing today, so I was able to go freely. I think Sirius wanted to say something, but I may or may not have silenced him before I left the room."

"Face it, you realised how bland your day would be without me. I bet you were begging Flitwick to let you go," James teased.

"Oh, of course. My days are considered worthless if I don't see you glorious face," replied Lily, rolling her eyes. "Really. My world revolves around you, Potter."

"I knew it," he said happily, reaching over for a vial of potion. She slapped his hand away.

"You shouldn't take it on an empty stomach," she said. "It works better if you eat something first."

"Yes Nurse Evans," James said.

Lily raised an eyebrow. "Nurse Evans?" she said wryly. "Fantasise much, Potter?"

James smirked at her before deliberately- and torturously slowly- looking her up and down. By the time his gaze had settled on her face, her cheeks were bright red. "I have to admit though, in those fantasies you were always in a sexy little nurse outfit. And I wasn't feeling like shit. Quite the opposite, really." He sneezed, which served to prove his point.

It was silent for a bit, only punctuated by a small coughing fit. James thought that he may have crossed the pre-established line, but soon enough Lily laughed and put a stop to his doubts.

"Prat," she said fondly. "Now eat so you can take your potion. We don't need Gryffindor's star chaser out of the game on Saturday."

"I don't care if I could barely move Evans; there is no way in hell that I'm going to miss that quidditch match," James said solemnly.

"You might not care, but if I don't think you're well enough I will tie you to this bed. I'm not going to have you faint in the middle of the game and fall of your broom," said Lily sternly as she poured out a glass of pumpkin juice for him.

"And what are you going to do once you have me all tied up and at your mercy, Ms. Evans?" James asked, still smirking at her.

Lily glared at him. "If you don't shut up and eat I will push this sandwich down your mouth."

"So you're into gagging?"

He got a slap on the shoulder for that one from Lily who was blushing once more. Her expression was adorable and James laughed as she tried to formulate a sentence. He leaned over her lap and grabbed the glass of pumpkin juice along with a sandwich. The dormitory was quiet as he ate. He could have sworn that Lily was humming but when asked she just looked at him strangely. When he was finally finished eating, he leant over to get the potion. However, Lily had the same idea and both of their heads knocked together. James hissed in pain and, on reflex, turned towards Lily only to find her face right in front of him, so close that their noses brushed. He sucked in a breath and Lily's eyes were widened while her mouth was hanging open slightly. The previous joking environment vanished and was replaced with something else. Neither knew what to say or do and ended up staring at each other like that for a good few seconds before James made the mistake of glancing down at her mouth.

He didn't know what happened next- maybe he moved, maybe she moved. Nonetheless, he certainly was not complaining. He didn't know what happened, but he did know that he was kissing her and she was responding rather enthusiastically. Her hands had come up around his neck and he shifted so that both of them were now sitting up, instead of him half lying on her. James lost track of time because he'd be damned if he thought about anything else while he was snogging Lily Evans. He'd wanted to this for years and now he was finally getting his chance.

When they finally did separate, his back was up against the head board and Lily was perched on his lap. His hands were firmly grasping her hips and hers were still around his neck. Amidst their- ahem- activities, Lily's shirt was rumpled, her hair was a mess and her neck tie was nowhere to be found. Neither said anything. James brushed a wayward curl out of her face and kissed her forehead. She linked their fingers together

"Bugger," she swore once she noticed the time. "Transfiguration is going to start now." It took them a while for her to disentangle herself from James, as he did not seem to want to let her go and kept on distracting her by kissing any available body part such as her neck and wrists. Lily grabbed her bag and passed her hand through her hair a few times to untangle it. "Where'd you throw my bleeding tie?"

"I don't know," James shrugged as he watched her from the bed. "Use one of mine."

"It's too l- aha!" She grabbed the scrap of scarlet and gold silk and began knotting it hastily. "I'll see you later!" she shouted as she ran out the door. "And don't forget to take your potions!"

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During the course of Thursday evening and the entire of Friday, Sirius continuously badgered James as to why Evans ran in to the Transfiguration two minutes late, blushing and dishevelled. James, of course, did not tell him anything, but he was sure that Sirius was forming his own conclusions and had enlisted the help of Remus and Peter to try and crack him. He had asked if they snogged, but, as he did with all the other theories, James simply hummed noncommittally and continued to ignore him.

It wasn't until the quidditch match that he confirmed or denied Sirius' suspicions. James had fully recovered and Gryffindor had properly trounced Ravenclaw in the match. Everyone was cheering and running out on to the field as the seven Gryffindors floated gracelessly down to the pitch. Only a few minutes after his feet had touched the ground was James accosted by Sirius.

"I knew it!" yelled the latter. "I bloody well knew it!"

James looked at him confusedly. "Knew what?" he shouted over the din.

Sirius grinned at him and disappeared for a moment, only to reappear holding on to Lily's wrist. Lily, who was clutching a handkerchief and whose nose was red from being rubbed raw. She coughed and sputtered, trying to yell at Sirius for grabbing her, but was unable to do so as her voice was barely a whisper. When she noticed James standing a few feet away, she blushed bright red and glared at Sirius.

"You snogged Evans," Sirius said triumphantly. He turned to Lily. "It was obvious when you came running into class was shirt half open. I swear, even McGonagall knew you had been busy with someone."

Lily squeaked indignantly. "My shirt was not undone!" she croaked.

James threw an arm around her shoulders. "Ignore him!" he yelled over the noise. "He's just jealous that no one's snogging him."

Sirius tried to refute that statement, but the couple ignored him as James had swooped down and kissed her hard on the lips, right in front of Sirius, Remus and more or less the entire school. She made a soft noise of protest and pushed him away.

"You'll get sick again," she said, her hands still resting on his chest.

James grinned at her. "Well then maybe this time you'll wear the sexy nurse outfit while you take care of me," he said as he leant down to kiss her again. This time she let him.

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_**Reviews make me happy. You have the power to make me on very happy gal.**_


	3. Sleepy

_**Thanks to bloodyhell-ronald, AA Addict, 09 and Neko-chan2604 for reviewing the last chapter. Have a cookie.**_

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**Sleepy**

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It was Friday night and everyone was off celebrating the weekend, relishing the fact that they could rest just for a bit before tackling homework and studying. That is, everyone except the head students who were locked up tight in the heads' office, working out points and patrol schedules.

Lily could barely keep her eyes open. Last night she had patrolling until after twelve, and then, when she finally returned to her dorm, she had an essay to finish and a Defence exam to study for. By the time she actually got to bed it was a quarter to three and she had to get up at seven for the latest. It was no different for James, save for the fact that he made the mistake of scheduling an early morning quidditch practice, leading him to get even less sleep than her.

They both sat side by side, choosing to sit on the uncomfortable loveseat instead of at the desk, because the chairs at the desk were warm and comfortable, surely to put them to sleep, while the couch was lumpy and poked you in the back if you decided to lean back.

James yawned and took off his glasses to rub his eyes with the pads of his fingers. Lily glanced at him out of the corner of her eye. She intended for it to be a fleeting look, but something stopped her and next thing she knew, she was staring at him. James realised this too, and gave her a confused look.

"What?" he asked slowly.

"You look... different without your glasses on," she replied, still staring at him. Her nose was slightly scrunched and a small dip had formed between her brows. James thought she looked adorable. "It's weird seeing you without them," she continued.

James gave her a half shrug, not knowing what to say.

"Can you see without them?" asked Lily.

He nodded. "Not very far though," he admitted. "Anything more than ten feet away is a complete blur." They lapsed back into silence once more, which was punctuated by yawns, fluttering eyelids and stretching. During this silence, Lily brought her feet up and under her while James tossed aside his tie and undid the first button of his shirt. It was a while before he realised that she was staring at him again. He acknowledged her with the raise of an eyebrow.

She bit her lip for a moment. "Can you see me without them?"

James smiled at her. "Course I can; you're just a bit fuzzy at the edges," he said.

Lily yawned and muttered, "I'm not fuzzy." Her eyelids were slowly drooping lower and lower.

James repressed a laugh and, without actually realising what he was doing, brushed aside the hair that had fallen into her face. He froze for a moment, but seemed as though Lily either didn't mind or didn't notice what he did.

"Maybe we should take a break," he suggested, gently removing the quill from her loosely clenched hands. She nodded sleepily and leant back, only to sit up straight as a spring jabbed her in her back. Lily hissed like an angry cat and cursed the damn seat. This time, James did not bother to hide his laughter, but it was quickly cut off with another yawn.

He took out his wand and waved it, producing a soft pillow and handed it to her wordlessly. She muttered her thanks under her breath and placed the pillow at the back of her. James conjured another one for him, as well as a large blanket, big enough for more than two people.

Both head students insisted on only resting their eyes for five minutes, but before they knew it, they were fast asleep.

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It was way after curfew when Sirius Black and Remus Lupin snuck out of the tower, under James' invisibility cloak, in search of the missing Head Boy and Head Girl. The last time they saw them, was after dinner when they retired to the Heads' office and no one had seen neither hide nor hair of the pair and had started to worry. Only when it was more than an hour after curfew, Sirius had grabbed Remus and cloak to go and search for them. Unfortunately for the pair, James was in possession of the map so they couldn't pinpoint their immediate location, but had decided to go to the place they were headed: the Heads' office.

Remus muttered an unlocking charm on the door and they went in. The candles had already burnt out and the only light found in the room came from the dying fire a few feet away from the lumpy loveseat that both Marauders were staring at.

Lily's head was nestled on James' chest while the latter had his arms around both her shoulders and waist as they slept on peacefully. They had moved from sitting on the couch to half lying on it with one pillow on the floor and nearly tangled in the blanket.

"Should we wake them up?" Sirius asked, after getting over his shock.

Remus shook his head. "Let them be."

A mischievous grin broke out across Sirius' face. "Just imagine James' face when he realised that he spent the night with Evans."

Remus chuckled. "He probably won't know what hit him, poor bloke."

"What are we going to tell the girls then?" asked Sirius.

Hesitating for a moment, Remus shrugged and said, "Just tell them that she asleep."

"Gotcha," Sirius nodded, a sly smirk pulling at the corners of his mouth. "Tell them that we caught Lily sleeping with Prongs."

Despite the amused twitch of his lips, Remus narrowed his eyes at the dark haired boy. "I'll do the talking lest you say something that sends Lily out for your blood in the morning."

Mumbling about how much of a wet blanket Remus is, Sirius stepped out of the office, closely followed by Remus. They took one more glance at the red head and their friend resting quietly before closing the door and locking it back.

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_**Reviews are waking up to find James Potter next to you.**_


	4. Apples

_**Thanks to bloodyhell-ronald and the-kermit-kid for reviewing the last chapter.**_

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**Apples**

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"Prongs!" yelled Sirius as he barrelled into the boys' dormitory. "I have an idea to get Evans to snog you!"

James groaned from inside his bed hangings. "Sod off Padfoot; I'm knackered."

This just made Sirius more determined. "C'mon mate; I got the idea from a muggle fairytale. That ought to get you some points."

"Sirius," James said again. "I don't need your help with Evans. I'm doing perfectly fine on my own."

Sirius let out a derisive snort. "Yeah, and Remus is the Minister of Magic. At least let me tell you about the plan."

There was a pause in their conversation. Finally, James sighed resignedly and said, "Fine."

Sirius whooped and threw an apple into his bed hangings.

"Ow!" yelled James. There was a bit of shuffling around before he finally poked his head out of the hangings. "Why the bleeding hell did you throw an apple at me?"

"That's the idea," said Sirius, speaking quite fast. "In the muggle fairytale the bird eats an apple and falls into this deep sleep and then this bloke comes along and kisses her so she could wake up."

"Alright, humour me. How do you propose we get Lily in to a deep sleep with an apple?" James said grouchily, rubbing the spot on his head where the apple hit.

"A sleeping draught," said Sirius triumphantly.

"Sirius Black, don't you think for one moment you could get away with drugging me." A new voice entered the conversation. Sirius turned around to find the one and only Lily Evans standing in the doorway, arms folded across her chest and eyes narrowed at him.

"Evans!" said Sirius, slightly turning red. "Er- how long have you been standing there?"

"Long enough," she said wryly. "I came to get my Charms book. I think I left it here earlier."

"What were you doing in our dormitory?" asked Sirius. This time his eyes were narrowed and she had turned light red. Quickly regaining her composure, Lily strode over to James's bed where her Charms book lay and picked it up. Turning to Sirius, she looked him dead in the eye and said,

"Why don't you ask your best mate?" before leaning over and placing a chaste kiss on James's lips before walking back out, smirking slightly at Sirius's dumbfounded expression.

James's laughed awkwardly. "I guess we won't need the apple after all."

Sirius threw the apple back at James, hitting him squarely in the nose this time before stalking out.

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_**Short, I know. So I've decided that I'd be updating once a week for now and hopefully I'll get write some new material soon.**_

_**Reviews are nice little things, aren't they?**_


	5. Infernal Berries

_**Suggestive? Very. I'll leave you to you imagination ;)**_

_**Thanks to Ansy Pansy aka Panz and bloodyhell-ronald for reviewing the last chapter :)**_

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**Infernal Berries**

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At that very moment, James Potter hated strawberries as he sat in the Great Hall. Normally, he liked the fruit, however, sitting there while watching Lily Evans eat them could make a bloke go mad with hate towards the infernal berries.

Over the past few months, he had stopped asking her out, stopped bothering her and started being nice to her, as Remus suggested. His feelings towards he had not changed, of course, but his approach had. And this new approach had landed her as his friend.

Even so, he could not stand to see her eat those damn strawberries. Why? Because he was jealous of a bloody fruit. James can admit that he had reached new levels of pathetic.

The fruit had stained her lips red, making James yearn to kiss them, to taste their sweetness and return them back to their original colour or, if possible, even more red. And when some of the juice dripped down her hand she caught the droplets with her mouth. The bowl of strawberries slowly dwindled and when there were no more left, she licked her fingers clean, causing James to drop his head to the table- something he should have done a long time ago- to avoid seeing anymore. Unfortunately, this just left him alone with his thoughts.

And that was even worse than watching her eat the strawberries.

"James," she voiced concernedly after some time, thankfully breaking him out of his daydreams. "Are you okay?"

"Just peachy, Evans," he said through gritted teeth. "Fucking peachy."

She didn't believe it for one minute- hell, he didn't even believe it- but let him be nonetheless.

"Alright… if you say so," she said doubtfully. "Strawberry?" she offered.

James groaned and shut his eyes tighter.

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_**Let's just be blunt here and say that I really like getting reviews okay.**_


	6. Jealousy part II

**_A lot of you guys asked for a sequel to the Jealousy chapter and here it is! As per usual, thanks to everyone who's read, favourited, alerted and reviewed so far! Big hug to the reviewers from the last chapter; Neko-chan2604, The Honor Lord, bloodyhell-ronald and Lovewriting12._**

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**Jealousy part II**

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He's staring at her again.

James gritted his teeth and narrowed his eyes at the stupid Hufflepuff tosser who was chatting with Lily at the other end of the corridor. He did not know why (he's lying; he did and he hated it) it got to him, but it just did. James was perfectly fine with being her friend, but there was always going to be some sort of reminder that that was all he was to her at the moment. A friend. Friends laugh. Friends talk. Friends hug. Friends certainly do not lean as close as David McCollum was doing at this very moment. The prat was practically brushing noses with her!

A hand suddenly dropped down on James' shoulder, and momentarily jerked him out of his Hufflepuff hating. He looked up to see Sirius grinning down at him. It was evident that his best friend knew of the current mood he was in and he knew exactly why he was in the mood.

"Well aren't they lovely," quipped Sirius as he leaned against the wall and crossed his arms across his chest, mimicking James' posture.

"Charming," the other boy all but snarled. His hands clenched into fists when he saw the other boy lean in even closer (really now, James though, that was rather inappropriate behaviour in a corridor. Think of the children) and said something that caused Lily to blush.

If James had been paying more attention to his surroundings, he would have noticed Sirius' less than silent laughter beside him as the latter recognised the similarities between this exchange and the one that occurred during the last charms class.

"Honestly," hissed James. "He's just being a smarmy bastard. He doesn't want anything else besides to get in her knickers."

"And how do you know that?" asked Sirius, not even bothering to hide his amusement any more.

"Well it's obvious, isn't it?" scoffed James, further narrowing his eyes.

Sirius hummed noncommittally. Maybe, depending on how he feels, he might share the talk he had with Lily yesterday in class with James later. He watched as Lily threw her head back, laughing and saw that James looked just about ready to draw his wand.

For a pair of brilliant people, they wear rather thick, Sirius deduced as Lily continued laughing with the boy and James continued glaring. Honestly, they weren't even trying to hide it anymore, what with the Barberry fiasco yesterday and now this. Sirius watched as the blonde haired boy reached out to brush a lock of hair from Lily's face, causing her blush to darken. He glanced back at James, whose glare had gotten more intense while his knuckles were turning white from how hard he clenched them.

"Heard him talking about her the other day," Sirius said lightly.

"Is that so," said James, who was now close to going up and throttling the boy.

"Yeah; I think he was saying something about asking her to Hogsmeade," he replied grinning at James. The boy turned to glare at his supposed best friend.

"I hate you, you know that," James said lightly, hitting Sirius in the stomach. "Moony is a much better friend sometimes."

Sirius grinned once more.

"That's because Moony has tact. All of think the same thing," he remarked cleverly, dancing out of the way of James' oncoming fist.

"Mangy mutt."

"Sulking shrew."

"Oi! Now that was uncalled for!"

"No it wasn't," he said happily, still grinning manically at James. "It's true and you know it."

"Well I can't do anything about it, now can I?" James replied exasperatedly.

"Your words, not mine," Sirius said quickly, raising his hands. "All I'm saying is that if you can't do anything- or more appropriately won't do anything about it- then you shouldn't be plotting to murder someone who is."

James glared at him. "That's it; you've been denoted. Moony is my best mate now."

"Good to know."

"Fuck you, Padfoot."

"I think you much rather do that to Evans." This time James did manage to hit him.

"Have I told you that I hate you?"

"Yes."

"Good. It's true."

"You know what else is true?" asked Sirius, taking a good step back while rubbing his sore arm. "The fact that McCollum likes Evans and is about to ask her out."

James' gaze- glare, really- returned to the pair and sure enough McCollum was still there, smiling flirtatiously at Lily. Something within James snapped and before either he or Sirius realized, he was already halfway down the hall.

The closer he got, the louder the laugher and harder his jaw clenched.

"Evans!" James said happily, looping an arm casually around her shoulders.

Lily jumped in surprise and looked up at him. Once realising who it was, she relaxed and a small smile appeared on her face. "Hello James," she greeted easily.

"Evans," he said again, this time grinning back down at her.

"Potter," acknowledged McCollum.

The grin slid off his face, and it was all James could do to not glare at the prat. "McCollum."

"If you don't mind, I was in the middle of a con-"

"Terribly sorry, McCollum," James said loudly, speaking over the boy. "I'm afraid I have to speak to Miss Evans about some super important and top secret Head duties."

"But I-" protested David, frowning.

"Important!" James reminded him, gently pulling Lily away.

"I'll talk to you later, David!" Lily called apologetically over her shoulder as she allowed herself to be towed along by James.

Sirius was laughing loudly as he watched James pull Lily through the throngs of people- and more importantly, far away from David McCollum. The pair stopped in front of him, and he laughed even harder. Lily regarded him curiously and then looked back at James. Finally, it dawned upon her.

"There isn't any Head business to talk about, now is there?" she asked sceptically, retracting her hand from James'.

"Is that what he said?" snorted Sirius, his eyes glittering with mirth. "I guess everyone needs their excuses."

"Excuses?" she asked, confused.

"Prongs here is looking out for your virtue, Evans," Sirius said solemnly, even as his lips twitched, struggling to hold back the laughter that was surely dying to burst from his mouth.

Lily turned around and stared at James who was, for his part, looking slightly abashed.

"I can explain," he ventured quickly.

"Save it," Lily snapped. "I don't want to hear it." And with that, she turned and left, leaving a laughing Sirius and frustrated James in her wake.

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_**Tumblr is having a Jily week starting from tomorrow, which means tonnes and tonnes are jily fics and other lovely things, so if you're on tumblr, you guys should probably look in to that. Another good thing about jily week is that I'm writing about four things for it, which means about four new Moments chapters. So yay.**_

_**Review!**_

_**:)**_


	7. Two Sugars, One Milk

_**Thanks to Lovewriting12, Seven Perseids, bloodyhell-ronald and the guest reviewers for, well, reviewing the last chapter. This was written for jily week where the prompt was for the death of a parent.**_

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**Two Sugars, One Milk**

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For as long as James Potter knew her, Lily Evans was one of the few who drank coffee in the morning. Every day she would religiously pour out the dark, bitter liquid and add two spoons of sugar and a dash of milk before proceeding to give it half a stir. He was always enraptured by the way she did it; how her movements flowed into one another as though it was a dance of sorts. Her hands would loop before sprinkling the sugar and her wrist would flick so that just the right amount of milk would spill out the jug. This was how it had been for the last five and half years and no one would ever question it. That was just the way things were. The sun would rise in the east, you would go down for breakfast and Lily Evans would have her coffee.

And then, one day, that all changed.

It was right after the Christmas hols in sixth year. Everyone was back in the castle, full of happiness from the short break. On the first day of classes, James made his way down to the Great Hall, as always, took the seat two down from Evans (on the right side of the table) as always, and served himself breakfast (pancakes, eggs and sausages with a glass of pumpkin juice) as always. He was just about to dig in when he spotted something that wasn't as always.

Lily Evans, in her neatly pressed school uniform, sat near to the end of the table, as always, read the Daily Prophet, as usual, and ate breakfast (a muffin and a serving of fruit) as always. However, instead of the large steaming mug of coffee that one associated with her, there was a not so large cup of earl grey. No longer did her movements flow gracefully; they were harsh and disjointed, lacking the refined finesse as they had before. She reached for the sugar bowl and almost knocked it over as she procured a teaspoon of the substance, and then, she went to grab the milk jug only to stop mid grip and set it back down with a sigh of resignation as she rubbed at the dark circles beneath her eyes. And then, when she went to drink it, she always made this little face; her mouth puckered, her nose scrunched and her forehead creased.

This abnormal behaviour continued for weeks. No one commented on it (James didn't think that anyone knew of these little changes besides him, and perhaps Lily's closest friends) Every morning she would do the same thing: nearly knock over the sugar bowl and reach for the milk. And thing is, is that James hadn't the faintest idea as to why she was doing this and that fact drove him spare. So he would stare at her new ritual every morning until it became his new ritual. Come down for breakfast, sit two away from her, serve himself and then stare as she made her morning drink.

The days flew past and before he knew it, it was almost the end of the month. James was walking through the deserted castle halls one Saturday morning and a flash of red caught his attention out in the courtyard. Staring out the window, he realised that that flash of red had a name and that name was Lily Evans. She was sitting under one of the many large trees that bordered the edge of the lake. It wasn't cold enough to warrant heavy overcoats, but it was cool enough to keep most of the students indoors. Making a split second decision, James decided to join her.

A few minutes later (and after making a quick detour to the kitchens) James found himself striding towards the large oak tree.

She sat with her back against the roughened trunk and staring out at the Black Lake. She was in an oversized jumper and jeans with boots as well as a Gryffindor scarf thrown carelessly around her neck. Slowing his pace, James easily walked up to her and sat down without a word.

Lily barely acknowledged him. In fact, he would have thought that she was ignoring him if not for her eyes flickering towards his form for just the barest of seconds. Neither said anything, simply opting to stare at the lake, with their shoulders brushing ever so often.

James' eyes looked over to the red head once more, and, having finally worked up the courage, he asked, "Lily, are you okay?"

She turned this time to look at him. Her face was pale, the only colours being the green of her eyes and the slight pink of her lips and the tip of her nose. James thought she looked beautiful.

Lily stared at him for a few moments and James, not knowing what else to do, stared back. After a while, she exhaled loudly.

"No," she said quietly.

James refrained from raising his eyebrows. "Do you want to-"

"My dad died," she blurted out suddenly. A swirl of pink appeared on her cheeks and she dropped her gaze. James, for his part didn't know what to say. Hesitantly, he reached out his hand and gently brushed the top of her hand before lightly picking it up. It was cold and small in his.

"I'm sorry," he murmured, because really, what else could he say?

Lily shook her head, still looking away from him. They slipped into silence once more. James still held on to her hand and she made no move to withdraw it.

"He was ill for some time," she said after while in such a quiet voice that James strained to hear it. "My dad. Before I came back out in the beginning of sixth year he got ill and then," she paused to take a shuddering breath. "And then he- he passed right after Christmas." She sniffled and it was then that James realised that she was crying. He didn't know what to do, so he just there, holding her hand as she tried to stop her tears. He felt helpless. Both his parents were rather high up in years and he knew it was only a matter of time before they went, but he couldn't imagine how it must have been for Lily, who only had four months to digest the information about her dad. And so he sat, holding her hand while muttering comforting words every once in a while to her as she finally reigned in her emotions.

"He always liked tea," she said mainly to herself. "Mum and I never understood it; we preferred coffee, and Tuney, when she wasn't on some health food kick or the other was partial to it either. Dad... he used to drink it every morning with breakfast. Just the tea and sometimes he might add a bit of sugar, but other than that, nothing." She sighed as she drifted away in what James guessed was memories about her dad.

"Is that why you started drinking tea in the mornings?" he asked quietly.

She gave him a watery smile and a half baked attempt at a laugh. "I didn't think anyone actually noticed."

"You make this face whenever you drink it," James said suddenly. His face reddened slightly after realising what he said. "I mean, it's not all that hard to notice when someone changes their habits after nearly six years."

"I guess so," she shrugged. It was quiet once more, and then James remembered what he had brought from the kitchens. Regrettably, he removed his hand from hers and grabbed the thermos from his side and opened it.

"What's that?" asked Lily curiously as he poured out a cup. James said nothing, but grinned at her as he handed her the mug.

"Two sugars, one milk," was all he said. Something sparked in her eyes and Lily tried to hide her own smile by ducking her head. She gratefully accepted the mug from him and took a large sip, sighing happily. James chuckled and handed over the entire thermos.

"I'll leave you to enjoy your coffee," he laughed quietly. Hesitating for just the slightest of seconds, James bent over and kissed her cheek. He stood up. "S'later, Evans. Feel better." And with one last boyish grin, he left. Lily smiled to herself and took another sip of the hot drink.

The next morning, when Lily finally made it down for breakfast, James was already there, sitting in the seat next to where she usually sits, already serving himself breakfast. She simply brushed it off and took her seat and was about to go through the familiar process of making her coffee when he pushed a mug towards her. She looked at it before looking back to him. He said nothing, but smiled slightly and went on eating his breakfast. This new habit continued well after they left Hogwarts and got married. Each morning, James would get up first, as always, wake Lily up (usually by kissing her) as always, and then, the two of them would fight over who gets to use the shower first (although most times it just ended up with them sharing) as always. And finally, he would make a cup of coffee for her, with two sugars and one milk, as always.

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_**Review s'il vous plait! :)**_


	8. Our World

_**We're at 30 reviews. Woo. :)**_

_**Thanks to all you guys who reviewed the last chapter: PortiaBennet, Neko-chan2604, emorley, dance4ever95 and Lovewriting12. Fair warning, this is a smutty chapter so you can skip it if that's not your sort of thing.**_

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**Our World**

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"I do."

He said those words almost five hours ago.

If one were to ask James if being married made anything change, he would reply with a resounding no. Nothing much had changed between them; they still lived together, they still slept in the same bed, ate the same food, did work for the order and other things that would stay the same, even after their marriage. If one were to ask James if being married made him feel any different, he would reply with a yes, and infinitely so. He felt happier. Ecstatic. Overjoyed. Rapturous. He could go on and on, but there won't ever be a word to describe how he felt towards Lily Evans- no, it was Potter now; that was probably the only thing that changed- and James had no problem with that.

Ever since they said the two faithful words to each other (Lily had teasingly told him later on, "Too late for me to get with the giant squid, eh?") they hadn't broke contact. They were touching at all times, whether it be a simple brush of the knees or holding hands. Always touching.

Now, her hand was resting on his upper thigh, under the table, in a place that most would have listed as inappropriate. She had started off with her hand on his knee, but as the night progressed, her hand gradually made its way up until it finally arrived at its current place.

James tried his best to ignore her, but she wasn't making it easy. Minx.

When the guests started to leave, he almost cried with relief.

James grabbed her hand and the two of them made their rounds amongst the guests before leaving to the sound of much cheering and applause.

They had barely landed in the living room of their flat before James caught her mouth in a searing kiss.

"You," he said roughly as they broke apart, breathing heavily. "Are going to be the death of me, Lily Evans."

"I believe it's 'Potter' now," she corrected him as she skimmed her nose along his jaw line. A wide grin broke out across his face.

"Lily Potter," he repeated, the words rolling around his mouth in a way that cherished each letter and each syllable and everything. "I quite like that."

She giggled and then they've gone back to kissing, though this time it was no longer the previous frenzied passion as before; instead it was slow and building.

The path way to the bedroom was littered with clothes. Both of them had shucked their shoes in the middle of the sitting area, James lost his jacket somewhere in the hall and the steps where besieged with the little jewels that were once elaborately pinned in Lily's hair.

The door to the bedroom hadn't even properly shut yet when James ordered her to turn around. He brushed the wavy red hair to the side and pressed a few light kisses along her neck. Slowly, he started to undo the row of buttons that went down the length of her back. Once they were all undone, he ran his knuckles down her spine, causing her to shudder slightly before sloppily kissing her cheek from behind and murmuring, "Beautiful," in her ear.

The dress slid off her body and landed in a heap of silk and beads at her feet, leaving Lily in just her undergarments.

"Beautiful," James said again as he leant down to kiss her softly on the lips. It was slow and languid, the fire stirring bit by bit, sending tendrils that lazily weaved through their veins, slowly setting them on fire. One of his hands got itself tangled in her hair while the other skimmed her side, across the familiar hills and valleys, coming up to lightly knead her breast and elicit a soft sigh from her.

Lily took her time with undoing the buttons of his dress shirt, finally running her hands down his toned and scarred abdomen when he shrugged it off. They walked backwards until the back of his knees hit the bed. James pulled her on top him, never breaking the kiss. His hand clenched at her hip as her tongue slowly glided across his bottom lip, and soon enough the once slow kiss became heated and passionate.

James broke away, only to pepper her milky white neck with the barest of kisses, slowly working his way down to her shoulder. Lily moaned lightly as his teeth scraped the soft skin of her shoulder as he tugged down the strap of her bra with his teeth. Moving to the other side, he repeated this action and Lily swore that she could have seen stars as he easily manoeuvred them so that she was now pressed firmly into the mattress.

Not to be outdone, Lily drew random patterns across his chest and down his torso, and very deliberately brush the obvious bulge in his pants only to repeat it again and again until James caught her wrist.

"Stop it," he muttered against her skin, pressing a kiss to her collarbone.

"Hmm...," she pretended to consider it for a moment. "No." And then did it again just to spite him.

"You're incorrigible," he chuckled as he brushed her hair over her shoulder.

"Isn't that my line for you?" she asked, nails digging in to his biceps. James said nothing, but she could feel his smirk against her neck, and, before she knew it, deftly unhooking her bra. The skimpy piece of lace was quickly tossed aside, leaving her only in her knickers and James kissed across her chest, heading down her torso.

"James," she said warningly as he pressed a kiss to her sternum right above her heart. He ignored her and pressed another kiss to her ribcage.

"James," she tried again, as he kissed down her ribcage, still paying no heed to her.

"Ja-_oh_," she broke off into a moan as he slipped a finger inside her, rubbing her centre through her nearly soaked through panties. She could feel the wanker smirk against her stomach, but the fact was lost in the haze of pleasure that clouded her brain.

His tongue swirled around her hip bone and soon enough he was slowly pulling her knickers down her legs that, in that particular instant, seemed to go on forever, leaving her bare. James had seen her naked plenty of times before, but Lily still couldn't help but to feel a slight bit self conscious around him, despite the number of times he told her that he loved every bit of her, right down to the last freckle. He kissed the inside of her thigh as his fingers continued to work away. Lily moaned loudly once she felt his lips on her. His tongue and his hands proving to be a delicious yet lethal combination as, soon enough, she was clenching around him.

A light sheen of sweat covered her body as Lily tried to regulate her breathing while James kissed back up her body. He stared at her eyes which were almost completely dark with just the barest hint of green bordering the edges. She sloppily grabbed his neck and kissed him soundly and slowly, drawing out each and every second of it. Her hands moved to the snaps of his pants and fumbled around blindly for a moment or two before finally unbuttoning them and shoving them- along with his boxers- down his legs. James kicked them off and they felt with a light 'fwump' to the floor, though neither party paid attention, having being lost in the other.

He slowly entered her and they both groaned simultaneously, not moving for a moment or two. Slowly, they began jerkily moving and soon enough found a comfortable rhythm. Their lips sought each other once more and soon they were nothing more than a tangle of limbs, ragged breathing and sweat soaked bodies as they both tried to sink into the other.

The fire was back in Lily's stomach and she felt herself close to edge for the second time that night. James grunted and picked up the pace, intent on getting her there. He kissed her once more, and then, hitting the right spot, Lily felt herself falling, as though the rubber band holding her together had snapped, sending her flying in every single direction as she repeated James' name over and over. Not too long after, James followed suit with his own climax, calling out her name like an oath.

He buried his head in the crook of her shoulder, breathing her in before kissing her lightly and rolling off of her. James brushed back the hair that fell in her face.

"I love you, Mrs. Potter," he said, grinning tiredly as he wrapped her around in his arms.

"And I you, Mr. Potter," said Lily, kissing his neck before snuggling into his arms. He tightened his arms around her and soon enough both of them were fast asleep, escaping in to their own world for just a little while. Here, there wasn't any war, any prejudice, nothing except the other and they liked it like that.

No one else besides Lily and James.

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**_I wrote this eleven last night for yesterday's prompt, so it's probably riddled with errors. Review...because my birthday was yesterday?_**

**_'Til next time, :)_**


	9. Proud

_**Big thanks to all you guys who reviewed last chapter. Mwah. Technically I'm not supposed to be posting this for another few hours or so, but whatever.**_

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**Proud**

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When Severus Snape called her a mudblood at the end of fifth year, Lily Evans was shocked, furious, but most of all humiliated. She spent most of her night crying over the boy she lost to the dark arts, the boy who said that it did not matter that she was muggleborns and then turned around and called her the most foul word one could say about her kind.

She was hurt.

But this was Lily Evans and Lily Evans was nothing if not stubborn.

That summer when she went back home, the first thing that she did was empty out her vast collection of quills onto her bed and went searching for pens. She packed all of her pens that she had sitting in an empty ink pot atop her desk, the one she found by the telephone and she even managed to get Petunia to give her one of her pretty coloured ones. Everywhere that Lily found a pen without an owner, she took it.

Eventually, at the end of summer, she had probably procured around sixty pens in different shades of blues and blacks and even some of the more colourful variety. She had even gone as far as to buy a small leather bound notebook that she could use to keep track of homework and assignments. Lily went from having millions of unused quills and several half full bottles of ink to just four quills and two bottles of ink that, if things worked out how she planned it to, should hopefully last for the entire term.

When she arrived back at the castle on the first of September, she promptly started using her pens for everything, completely neglecting her previously preferred writing utensil. No one actually realised the first time she used them. However, as the week wore on, more and more seemed to realised that instead of the large feathered quill everyone at the school used, Lily Evans, strange little Lily Evans, had a slender, sleek piece of metal or plastic that seemed to do the job of writing just as well.

It became a habit of hers that whenever she used a muggle pen in class, she would look up and glance at the group of Slytherins who regarded her with even dirtier looks this year than they did last year (she suspects it's the pen) She would not- could not, really- say anything in response, but she would raise her chin by just the smallest of movements and look at them defiantly as if almost daring them to say anything about her choice in stationery, because, yeah, she was a muggleborn, but she was damn well proud of her heritage, thank you very much.

Of course, not all the attention she received for her strange new stationery was not all negative. In fact, most of the students were interested in how the pen worked- Why didn't you need to dip it in ink? How come it's so small? Where does the nib go when you click the top? They had tonnes of questions.

Because if there's one thing you could say about Lily Evans, it's that she didn't give a whit about blood status and she made no move to hide the fact that her blood was not pure; she did almost the opposite in fact, by endorsing the fact that she was muggleborn and she had no problem with it whatsoever.

Her stance encouraged many other students to do the same, to pledge their allegiance to the side of the muggleborns. It was becoming a popular phase at Hogwarts, because as soon as Christmas rolled around, seventy five percent of the student population were using pens.

And it all started because of one stubborn girl and her muggle pen.

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**_Review!_**

**_:)_**


	10. A Little Party Never Killed Nobody

**_Yeah the title's the name of a song. A song that doesn't really have much to do with the actual storyline, but I digress. Thanks to you guys who reviewed the last chapter! Speaking of reviews, to the person who 'corrected' me on my spelling, I do not use the American version of english. I use the English version of english because that is how it is thought where I'm from so please don't correct me without getting your facts straight first. Sorry if I sound whiny._**

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**A Little Party Never Killed Nobody**

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Lily Evans wasn't shy, but neither would she consider herself a social butterfly. Sure, she talked and interacted amicably with everyone (even the Slytherins; although most of them did not reply as warmly as she began) but there were only a select few who she would allow privy into her personal life. Her dorm mates, Marlene McKinnon and Caroline O'Connor were two of whom were allowed this privilege, as well as fellow Gryffindor prefect Remus Lupin. Outside of her house, there were only a few others (Benjy Fenwick and Madison Gagmen for instance) but other than those few, not many could say that they were friends with Lily Evans.

Unfortunately, having friends that were fair and few led to her sitting in the corner of the Gryffindor Common Room on the last night of sixth year with a warm bottle of Butterbeer all by her lonesome as the party raged on alongside her.

Benjy and Madison had left the party just before ten, claiming to want to return to their respective Common Rooms before curfew set in, lest they get in trouble (Lily suspected that they would in fact be out after curfew, holed up in an empty classroom or broom closet, snogging as they tried to keep their not so secret secret relationship from she, Marlene and Caroline, all of whom had found out about it quite some time ago and found it hilarious that the pair though that they could keep a secret from them.)

Marlene had disappeared around ten with Mitchell Macadam (Lily was sure that one could get tongue tied if they were to try saying the pair's full names too fast) They had gone up to the boys' dormitory, giggling all the way and Lily certainly did not want to know what was going on there, for they had been gone for well over thirty minutes.

As for Caroline, well, she _was_ a social butterfly and had flitted off long before the other three had disappeared to go chat with some mates of hers. Lily was sure that if she knew that she was left alone, she would run back to her, but she did not so there was no running back to anyone. Besides, Lily did not want to seem as though she needed company at all times (even though she did) so she stayed by herself, occasionally sipping her Butterbeer and turning down please to dance from third year boys with too much cologne but not enough height. She was desperate, but not that desperate.

And as for Remus, he was one fourth of the gang who organised this little fete and therefore was running around doing his co- hosting duties, which entailed making sure that no one got too drunk, lest McGonagall come in at three in the morning only to find a bunch of buffoons who were clearly head over arse drunk. That would definitely ensure that the Marauders spent every day until graduation in detention, despite the fact that McGonagall had a soft spot for the Marauders. Everyone had a soft spot for the Marauders, including Lily. Hey, it was bound to happen, considering the fact that they lived together and shared nearly all of their classes. You can't help but to grow close to them when placed in that position.

So she sat there, watching everyone talk and laugh and drink and basically just celebrate the fact that they won't have to put up with school work for at least two months. Lily downed the rest of her room temperature Butterbeer and wondered if ten thirty was an alright time to leave a party.

She had only just gotten out of her arm chair (the bottle was still clutched in her hands and she hadn't even stretched yet to bring her muscles back to life, Merlin) when one of the Marauders found her.

"Is that Evans I see sitting by herself in the corner over here, or do my eyes deceive me?" asked Sirius, smelling slightly of Firewhiskey and throwing an arm around her shoulders. He took the empty bottle from her and threw it over his shoulder, landing it in one of the bins.

"No, despite the overwhelming evidence that you've been drinking, you can still see straight, for it is in fact Evans," she droned.

"Hello there, lovely Lily," grinned Sirius foolishly.

"Don't do that."

"What?"

"Lovely Lily."

"But it rhymes!"

"Are you drunk, Black?"

"Are you drunk, Evans?"

"Now that doesn't even make sense," said Lily, rolling her eyes.

"What is sense? It's nothing more than a social construct of what it is we're supposed to do and supposed to know? If I wanted to be a dog, would that make your so called sense? It's boxing us in and turning our characteristics into a mesh of grey while creating caricatures of ourselves," jabbered Sirius.

Lily stood there with her mouth slightly opened as she tried to take in what Sirius just said. She had to settle for looking shocked as she could not find any words to express how she felt.

"Dear god; you _are_ drunk," she marvelled after some time.

"I most certainly am not."

"You just discussed sociological constructs while using the words character and caricature in the same sentence without getting mixed up. Only a drunk person would do that."

"I am not drunk," he insisted.

"Really?"

"Yes."

"How many bottles of Firewhiskey did you drink so far?"

"One and a half but that's neither here nor there." The moment the words left his mouth Sirius caught himself and glared at her. "You tricked me."

"I did not. I simply worked my sobriety to my advantage," Lily grinned.

"I shared most of it with Prongs and the others," he protested, trying to clear the air.

"Doesn't make you any less drunk," she quipped. "At this rate, you're going to get liver poisoning before you're thirty."

"Well I don't intend on living forever, now do I?" He rolled his eyes and, without leaving room for her to retort, said, "Come on Evans; let's dance."

"I'm not in the mood to party, Sirius," Lily objected as he led her out of her beloved corner and to the edge of the dance floor.

"Nonsense-"

"Oh god, here comes more philosophical bullshit," Lily said fearfully.

Sirius sent her a withering stare. "Ha ha. I'm pissing myself laughing. You're fucking hilarious Evans."

"Well, I do try," she said, smirking slightly. "So what were you saying?"

"What?"

"Before; what you were saying before I had to put my two cents in because I will never let you live that down."

"Oh! Right, I was going to say that you should get up and have a bit of fun. A little party isn't going to kill you, you know."

"A little party with four drunken Marauders might," she countered.

"I'll have you know Evans, I'm not drunk," chimed in a new voice. James Potter sauntered over to them, holding a bottle of Butterbeer in one hand while he grinned at them. "Unlike this one over here, I don't drink all the Firewhiskey in one go."

"Charming," she said wryly.

"Speaking of a drink, you look as though you could use one," said James, offering her the bottle.

Lily's eyebrows almost shot off her face. "And end up like Mr Caricature over here? No thank you."

James looked between the two of them confusedly. "What?"

"Sirius here apparently becomes much more articulate when it comes to topics dealing with the meta physical aspects of civilization when he's drunk," Lily explained.

"I thought we went over the fact that I am not inebriated."

"You are," both Lily and James said at the same time.

Sirius glared at them both. "I hope you walk into a tree when you lose your glasses next time," he said to James. And then to Lily, "And I hope you get hit on by more third years drenched in their grandfather's aftershave."

"You _saw_ that?" said Lily, horrified.

"I see everything. Now if you excuse me, I'm going over by Moony who seems to appreciate me more than you two at the moment." He sniffed disdainfully and left them there by themselves.

"He tends to use big words when he gets drunk," said James once Sirius was out of earshot. "Doesn't know the meaning for half of them but he likes to use them. Thinks it makes him look less drunk."

Lily snorted. "If anything, they make him look _more_ drunk."

They both laughed awkwardly and continued standing there, shifting their weight from one foot to the next.

James took a sip of his Butterbeer.

Lily coughed slightly and glanced around the room. Her eyes landed on the clock. It was just a bit past eleven. Most of the lowerclassmen had already left the Common Room in favour of their beds. The youngest person she's seen so far was a few fourth years and even those were slowly retiring.

"Do you want to d... do something?" James asked, scratching the back of his neck.

"What do you mean by something?"

"I was actually going to ask you to dance but then changed my mind mid sentence," he confessed.

"Ah," replied Lily, not knowing what else to say.

Finally, she mustered up the courage and said, "Well then," she began, "In the words of the not wanting to be immortal Sirius Black, a little party isn't going to kill you."

"What the hell are you talking about, Evans?"

"I'm saying that we should go make the most of what's left of this party, yeah?" She grinned and took his hand in hers. Slowly, James began to grin as well and before she knew it, he was pulling her to the middle of the makeshift dance floor and Lily realised that she quite liked the feeling of her hand in his.

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**_Reviews make the world go 'round ;)_**


	11. Shades of Gold

_**I have two other things to post besides this because I've been writing it and not posting it because I suck.**_

_**Big thanks to the reviewers: Zeeah, Neko-Chan2604, swiftie121389, koryandrs and the guest reviewers! Love ya! 3**_

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**Shades of Gold**

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If she was being honest, Lily would admit that the main feature she gets noticed for is her eyes. Which is strange, because she herself was not so fond of them.

Lily had never liked green.

Everyone goes on and on about them, and, yeah, sometimes she likes the praise, but most times she doesn't because Lily Evans certainly did not like to be in the spotlight thank you very much. It gets even worst once Harry is born and it's realised that he inherits her exact same eyes. Poor boy, she would muse. He would have to grow up with everyone commenting on his eyes and how much they resemble hers.

You would think that no one has ever seen a pair of green eyes before.

Lily could run through a million and one reasons as to why people should not be fawning over her eyes and at the very top of her list was that she knew of persons with eyes that were much more unique and beautiful. Of course, if you asked her who had those unique and beautiful eyes she would blush and stutter and try her very best to change the topic because that was not a topic that she liked to dwell on.

She had never seen eyes like his, a mishmash of greens and browns, blues and greys and even some gold. It looked as though every colour that was available on the eye colour spectrum was present in his eyes. And, if that was not enough, sometimes one colour would over shadow the other and Lily would lose her breath all over again.

When he they argued, it was a chaotic swirl of blue and grey, like that of a stormy sea. She would never admit it, but half the time when they fought, she paid more attention to his eyes than what he was saying. There was something magical about- not the magic that she was able to show from her wand, but some other type that made it impossible for her to form any sort of coherent thought.

The green took precedence whenever he was happy. Lily can clearly remember their first meeting. His eyes had looked green then, with the other colours lurking just below the surface. That was before he got those stupidly adorable specs that did nothing to curb the troublemaker facade that he proudly wore every day. Although, the older they got, the less and less green she could notice as it was replaced by the murky browns and blues. She had always loved the greens.

The last colour was one that she hardly ever saw: gold. It rarely made appearances, but when it did, Lily felt as though her skin had been set on fire. It usually depended on the atmosphere, but Lily was fairly sure that it was reserved for her and her alone and that made her unbearably happy. When he looked at her, she always sees the flash of metal before the green sets in. Sometimes, it's molten, as though someone had managed to catch the sun ray's in a cup and emptied it in his eyes. Other times, it was hardened and signified that he was going headstrong into whatever it was he faced. And then the last type of gold was the one that was darkened and set her entire being completely ablaze. Those times usually preceded sighs and moans and a general lack of clothing.

Gold had always been her favourite colour, even before it became mutually exclusive to her. And then, when Harry came along, the molten gold was for him as well.

And so, if there was one thing Lily was happy about that Halloween night, it was the hardened gold with a tint of the sun creeping in, the last colour that she got see before the horrible green set in.

Lily had never liked green.

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**_Don't ask me about the last two lines. My keyboard just decided to make me turn it from sweet cotton candy-esque fluff to not so sweet fluff._**

**_Also, cookies if you can guess what the different shades of gold stand for._**

**_:)_**


	12. Of Non-existent Quidditch Muscles

**_I have all these things to post and yet I still take forever to update. I blame it on the fact that I'm reading so much that I literally forgot about life and things I have to do. Oh well. Better late than never, yeah?_**

**_Written for the lovely Renata (tobiaseatoning over on tumblr/ fitzwilliamherondale here on ) because she needed some homework motivation._**

**_Thanks to the reviewers: Neko-chan2604, koryandrs, the-kermit-kid and Emullz :)_**

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**Of Non-existent Quidditch Muscles**

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"Lily, you do realise that staring at the parchment isn't going to make your essay write itself, right?" said James from where he sat across the redhead. They were both quietly tucked away in a secluded corner of the library with a gigantic stack of homework along with Head duties that all needed to be ploughed through before the end of the night.

"I wouldn't be surprised if it did," she replied, still staring intently at the parchment. "After all, there are quills that can write on their own, aren't there?"

James laughed. "What exactly are you doing?" he asked as he leant over to get a better look at what she had written at the top. Meanwhile, Lily tried to ignore what his being close did to her. The smell of cinnamon and leather clouded her brain and muddled her thought process. "Alright, Evans?" he asked, seeing her slightly dazed look.

Lily shook her head, blushing. "Oh, yeah; I'm fine."

James looked at her suspiciously, but nevertheless, he said nothing. He looked down at her paper and almost laughed.

"Really, Lily; the theory of animagi? We covered this in class today!" he said incredulously.

"Exactly!" replied Lily passionately. "We did this topic- completely _in depth_- in class today! I know what I'm supposed to write, because _we did it in class today!_"

The look that James gave her told Lily that he was questioning her sanity. "Forgive me, but I fail to see the problem here."

"We did it in class today!" she wailed. "We covered this entire thing in class and now she wants us to write an essay on the exact same topic."

"I still can't see why you're all worked up here," he replied, frowning slightly.

"I can't reproduce exactly what she gave us, Potter," Lily huffed impatiently, jabbing him lightly in the stomach with her quill.

James looked down and then back up at her. "I'm sorry but was that supposed to hurt me?" he said with a slight smirk.

Lily stuck her tongue out. "Wanker."

"It's all the quidditch muscles, love," he replied succinctly, winking at her.

"Quidditch muscles my arse," she scoffed. James opened his mouth- mostly likely to make some sort of inappropriate comment but Lily stopped him. "Don't you even dare."

"I didn't say anything!"

"But you were going to," she countered. "No back to you nonexistent quidditch muscles."

"Well that's a bit obsessive, now isn't it, Evans?" he said, eyes glittering.

"Shut up," she replied, lightly blushing once more. She was certainly not obsessed with him. Infatuated maybe, but definitely not obsessed.

"Make me," he replied proudly.

Lily glared at him. "I will take that as an open invitation to cast a nice _Silencio_ on your mouth."

"Well, actually, I meant-"

"I think we all know what you meant," Lily said hurriedly as he shook with laughter. "Now, as I was saying before I was rudely interrupted by _someone_," she shot a look towards James, causing him to scoff.

"I'm the only one here! Who else is going to do that? One of these books?" he said sarcastically.

Lily raised an eyebrow. "You're doing it again."

James coloured slightly. "Sorry."

"Hmph. Right. As I was saying, you can't get muscles from sitting on a broom for hours. So there," she said triumphantly.

"Oh Lily," James sighed, smiling just a bit as he shook his head. "Lily, Lily, Lily. I do other things besides sit on a broom all day."

"Really? Like what?" she asked, crossing her arms.

James grinned at her and Lily felt her stomach swoop a bit. "Why don't I use that as form of coercion to get you to do your homework?"

"That is completely unfair," she objected.

"No it's not." James leaned in and whispered to her, "Maybe if you finish it before the library closes, you might even get to see them."

"James!"

He laughed at her and smirked when she turned bright red. "Yes Evans, my Evans?"

"That was-"

"Completely uncalled for? Perhaps. Will it help you get your work done faster? Undoubtedly so." He noticed her slightly crestfallen expression. "We'll go to the kitchen for celebratory ice cream after," he promised, smiling genuinely.

Lily looked up at him and smiled. However, there was something in it that made James a bit wary. A mischievous glint of sorts. He waited for her to say something, but she never did, until, after much discussion between both of them (and several times James had to duck to avoid getting hit by whatever projectile she had nearest) had taken place.

"Are you sure you want to get ice cream, Potter?" she asked as they walked down the hall side by side.

"Why?" he asked cautiously.

Lily smirked. "Oh, you know, wouldn't want you to damage those supposed quidditch muscles."

James had stopped walking and Lily did not realise until several paces later that she was walking by herself. She walked back to him and smiled innocently. "What?"

"Are you calling me fat, Evans?" he asked, narrowing his eyes at her.

Lily laughed and, on a sudden surge of confidence, took his hand in hers and winked at him. "I'll let you figure that out for yourself. All I'm saying is that we need you in top form for the match next week."

James nodded and they continued walking, hand in hand.

"But I'm not fat, right? Lily? _Lily_. Stop laughing at me, Evans!"

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**_Review please! :)_**


	13. We Found Love in a Cup of Tea

_**I really need to get into the habit of posting these things as soon as I write them because I have so many drabbles piling up it's not even funny.**_

_**Thanks to the reviewers: koryandrs, Neko-chan2604, AA Adict and the guests. You make my day every time I see that I've gotten a new review :)**_

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Today is a bad day.

She knows that Mondays already have a bad reputation, but _today_, today takes the cake.

Lily was the first to get up out of all her dorm mates this morning, meaning that she needn't wait for anyone to hurry up in the shower. She thought that that was a sign of good luck; that today would be a good day. She could not have been more wrong. First, as she was getting dressed, she realized that her favourite pair of stockings had a large run in them. Then, after binning them with a reproachful sigh, it took her at least half an hour to find another pair (she ended up filching one from Marlene) which led to her being the last one out of all her dorm mates to get ready.

The rest of her morning followed in a similar manner: she spilt pumpkin all over the table, got syrup in her hair, nearly tripped down the stairs and banged her shoulder quite painfully on the door frame of the potions' classroom.

Now, with an aching shoulder and slightly sticky hair, Lily was hustling down the empty corridor to get to her Divination class on time. She swears to god that she had only wanted to ask Slughorn one question and yet the warning bell found her now leaving the potions' classroom. Her frantic footfalls echoed throughout the corridor as she ran, trying to reach in class hopefully before Fairbridge did, despite the fact that the bell rang to signal the start of classes just under a minute ago.

She turned down one last hall and, panting slightly, flung open the door to the Divination classroom.

Almost every eye turned to look at her and Lily blushed under their scrutiny.

"Ms. Evans," said Professor Fairbridge, giving her a stern glance. "You're late."

"I know, Professor, I'm sorry," Lily apologised, looking pleadingly at the woman. "I was discussing something with Professor Slughorn and lost track of time."

The older woman sighed a little. "Alright, fine," she said. "Now go take that seat next to Potter; we're reading tea leaves. Page 326."

Lily nodded and, grateful for not getting punished, happily skipped off to wear James was sitting by himself. He nodded in acknowledgement at her and the two went about drinking the scalding hot tea in silence.

Once her cup was drained, she grasped it in both hands and peered down into it. As far as she was concerned, there was nothing more than bitter tasting dregs which had settled at the bottom and held nothing significant about her future.

"Found anything as yet?" asked Potter, glancing over to her from where he was looking at his own cup. Lily shook her head.

"What about you?"

"Indistinguishable," he repeated before leaning closer to Lily. "I think this one here looks like a flower of sort." He pointed at something in the cup.

Lily lazily opened her textbook and flipped through the pages. "What type of flower is it then?"

"I dunno," James shrugged. "What do you think it is?"

She glanced over at him and squinted into the cup. She snorted. "Oh, that's ironic," she mumbled softly, before talking louder. "It's a lily." She referenced back to the textbook. "The death flower. Someone's going to make a great sacrifice that's going to benefit loads of others but he'll die in the end." Lily glanced up and down at James. "Famous auror. Leads his team into battle and sacrifices himself so that they can escape. Very noble death."

"Thanks," said James, rolling his eyes. "Let's see what yours says." Without waiting for her consent, he reached over and grabbed her cup.

"It's just unidentifiable blobs," said Lily, watching him.

"That's what you think," he said. After a moment or two, he yelled victoriously.

"Ha! I told you so," he said, holding out the cup for her to see, pointing to a little oblong shape.

"It looks like an egg," she said grudgingly. Glancing over at the textbook for the meaning, she continued, "Symbolises birth of a child and fertility."

"Congrats Evans; you're going to be a Mummy," smirked James. Lily smacked his arm, muttering the word 'prat' under her breath. He laughed and continued to hold out the cup for her. "But that wasn't what I was talking about." James brought the cup up closer to her face. "That, in the corner, it looks like a cross. It means numerous trials and tribulations."

Lily glanced back at the cup and was surprised to note the tiny cross lying just a bit away from her egg. "Huh; guess you're right," she told him. "I guess that means that I'm going to have a kid who has to face endless misfortune." She jotted it down on her parchment, next to the significance of the lily.

"How's it going here?" asked professor Fairbridge as she surveyed their workspace. Lily held out the parchment for her to read. She mulled over it for a second before peering into both of their teacups. "Ah. You've missed one. Heart. The one for true love. It's rather prominent in both cups," she said, jotting it down for them. She gave them a small smile and commended their work before floating off to deal with another set of students.

"So we have someone nobly sacrificing themselves," began Lily.

"For good," interjected James.

"Someone sacrificing themselves for good," Lily nodded. "A child who faces endless misery and quite a lot of love."

"That doesn't make any sense," said James.

She shrugged. "It's Divination. It never makes sense."

James laughed. "You have a point; most of it is just a bunch of codswallop."

Lily smiled at him. "Exactly; none of this is ever going to happen."

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Review! :)


	14. The Morning After

_**Title says it all guys. Prompt given to me by an anon over on tumblr. Thanks anon. It's not explicit (in fact it's nauseatingly cute) but there are quite a few subtle- and not so subtle hints.**_

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Sunlight spilled in through the window, filling the bedroom with shades of gold and yellow. He could never get tired of seeing her like this, James decided as he looked down at Lily's sleeping form. Her back was pressed against his chest while the covers were pulled up to her neck and clenched tightly in her hands. James had been awake for a little while now and had been perfectly content to stay in bed with her. Memories of last night flitted through his mind and he unthinkingly bent his down to press a kiss on her shoulder, his stubble scratching her skin lightly.

Lily stirred, turning towards him while rubbing her eyes. James dropped a kiss on her nose.

"How long have you been awake?" she asked blearily, running a hand through her tangled red hair.

"A little while," James confessed, pulling her closer to him. He wasn't wearing his glasses which meant that most things were a blur. "I didn't want t wake you."

She rested her head on his chest, feeling the steady beating of his heart. "You should have."

"I didn't want to disturb you," replied James, kissing her temple.

Lily sighed in contentment, tracing patterns absentmindedly on his chest. "Can we just stay here forever?" she asked wistfully.

James chuckled and caught her hand, lacing his fingers with hers. "I wish." With his free hand, he brushed away a few wayward curls of hers before resting it on her cheek. He tilted her head up and caught her lips with his.

"Damn responsibilities," she muttered after the broke away from the long, languid kiss.

"Sorry love," James mumbled. Their foreheads were pressed together. "Soon though, once were finished with school, we'll have all the time in the world."

"We still have a few months to go," grumbled Lily, rolling onto her back and stretching. Her body was still a bit sore from last night, she realized as she stretched her arms over her head. During this, the blanket had slipped down from her chest to her waist, exposing her bare form.

She caught James staring and hitched an eyebrow. "See something you like, Potter?" she asked mischievously, despite the light blush that had formed from his scrutiny.

His lips twitched. "Lots," he replied succinctly before he attempted to pull the entire coverlet off. Lily squawked indignantly before scrambling to pull it back up. James laughed, sitting up and pulling her towards him so that he could kiss her once more.

"I love you," he mumbled against her lips.

"You're okay, I guess," said Lily, teasingly.

"You weren't saying that last night," he said, pouting petulantly.

She traced the line of his jaw as she said, "That's because you bribed me with chocolate and wine and flowers. Really, Potter, I never pegged you as a romantic."

"If I had known that that was all it took to get the elusive Lily Evans in bed, I would have done it a long time ago," he said, pressing little kisses against her neck.

Lily smacked him for that comment. "And we didn't even have any of it. Well, maybe some of the wine, but still."

"Mmm," his nose skimmed against the length of her collar bone. "That's because I saw something much more appetizing."

"There's no need for any of that, James," said Lily blushing, "I'm already here with you." She made a vague gesture to the room.

"But I'd like to keep you here," he said, lightly running his hand down the side of her torso, stopping at hip.

"'Fraid we can't love," she said, disentangling herself from him. "We have school." She hopped off the bed, stretching once more. "Stop staring," she said, not even bothering to turn around. Instead she threw his shirt over her shoulder, almost hitting him in the face if he hadn't caught it at the last moment. "Hurry up and get dressed; classes start in a half hour."

"Where are you going?"

"To shower."

James hopped off the bed too. "We should probably conserve water and take a shower together," he said solemnly.

Lily scoffed. "Then we'll be late for sure," she said before closing the door in his face.

James swore that he could have heard her laughing on the other side.

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	15. Remedies for Cold Weather

_**You would think that having these things already written meant frequent updates. So would I. I don't know what happened to cause me to not update for... god, 2 weeks? (hides face in shame) Here's some jily snogging with not so subtle implications of otherwise to make it up (plus it's never before seen- er, read)**_

_**Thanks to all you guys who reviewed, favourited and alerted!**_

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**Remedies for Cold Weather**

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Keeping this thing a secret was certainly not working the way she had hoped.

It was no surprise to see Lily and James sharing a booth at the Three Broomsticks anymore- in fact, it would be more of a surprise if they weren't. Ever since being dubbed Head Boy and Head Girl, the two have been practically inseparable. They spent their evenings together in the library, sat with each other for lunch and during Hogsmeade outings, went with each other. It was quite common for them to sit together during classes and at meals and now no one even raised an eyebrow whenever Lily sat in his lap, or he started playing with her hair. Many students speculated as to whether or not the two were dating, and Lily had even heard rumours of there being a few bets as well.

When she told James of this, the two of them had a great laugh over it, as they had been dating since the end of September. It was now the beginning of December.

They hadn't done anything to encourage; in fact they decided to play a little game and see how long they could keep it a secret.

Although, now, it seems as though that plan had backfired a little bit as the two of them came out here for a date only to have the rest of the Marauders burst onto the scene and join in.

Everything was going fine. James managed to finagle a booth in the back where it was relatively private, they both sat side by side, holding hands under the table as the chatted and drunk their Butterbeer in piece.

Lily could practically feel the warmth radiating outward from him, consuming her and causing several thoughts to spring to the forefront of her mind, most of which almost led to her blushing.

Despite the fact that they were with each other for most of the day, they could always find something to talk about. It amazed Lily how easily the conversation flowed between them. She felt comfortable being there with him as he told another sly joke that made her laugh. It was exhilarating.

Unfortunately, that feeling did not last long, mainly because of the fact that while James was in the middle of another tale (this time the one about what caused Peter's cauldron to almost explode last potions class) the other Marauders seemingly materialised out of nowhere.

"Brilliant, you've got a booth," Peter said happily as he slid in after Remus. "It's biting out there."

Sirius grinned as he slipped into the seat next to James, missing the look shared between him and Lily. The booth was meant to hold at least six people, but for some reason the other Marauders saw it fit to squeeze all together. Lily was pushed into James, ending up almost sitting on his lap. Their legs pressed together and the previous warmth became an inferno. Neither of them told their friends as yet, but Lily suspected that Sirius probably knew. How? She really didn't want to find out.

They jabbered on, and eventually her spirits lifted oh so slightly as she engaged in playful banter with them. She caught James staring at her a few times, but, in true James Potter form, instead of abashedly looking away, the wanker would wink at her.

After the fourth time she caught him staring, Lily said, "See something you like, Potter?"

James smirked. "Always, Evans," he replied easily, bending towards her just a bit. Her heart sped up, not at his words, but at his actions, as his hand casually slipped off the table top where it had migrated to when the others appeared, to now rest comfortably on her leg. Lily hoped she didn't look as flustered as she felt.

The Marauders laughed, completely oblivious to what just happened. "Oh Prongs," Sirius said fondly, slapping James on the back before he turned to you. "Give him a break Evans. I'm sure if you go on at least one date the poor sod would be so happy, he might die."

James pouted petulantly as the laughter got even louder. A smile tugged at her lips, and she raised her glass to try and hide it.

"Hmm," she sighed. "That might be a bit true, Sirius." She grinned demurely at the boy, her flicking over to James for just a few seconds.

"Make him beg, Evans. But only do that when we can be there to watch," replied Sirius, returning her grin wholeheartedly. Lily however had dropped her grin as James' moved up a few more inches.

"I don't know," he murmured teasingly. "I have a feeling that I can make Evans' willpower crumble in seconds if I wanted to." The look he gave her was both mischievous and telling, subtly reminding her that he can and he already has.

In spite of all of that, Lily's competitive nature reared its head. She cocked an eyebrow. "I'd like to see you try," she dared, her face moving a few inches closer to his as she purposely grazed her ankle against his.

"Is that a challenge, Evans?" he replied, his warm breath washing over her face. Lily had momentarily forgotten about their audience, which had settled down considerably and was now watching them in perplexity. She recognized that look in his eyes and knew that if they continued on this way, their secret would no longer be a secret.

Settling herself back into propriety, Lily attempted a smirk and said. "It would be, but I think we both know that I'd win."

The hand inched up some more, burning her through the denim of her jeans. He looked at her triumphantly when he saw her stiffen.

"Leave her alone James," cautioned Remus. He paused for a moment and then added, "She does have a point, you know."

James' jaw dropped open indignantly and Lily had to smoother a laugh. "Moony! You're supposed to be helping me here."

"Sorry," said the lycanthrope, though no one believed him. Peter announced that he was going for another round of Butterbeer and while everyone hastened to give him their orders, as well as their change, James took advantage of their momentary distraction to whisper quickly in Lily's ear, "Meet me outside after Wormtail comes back," and then louder, "I need to step out for a while. Have to place something by owl order. I'll be back in a mo'."

No one took him on really, and with one last brush of his hand against her hip, James left. Lily's brain went into overdrive and she barely paid attention to the ongoing conversation between the remaining two Marauders, nodding a murmuring assent only when needed to.

She was counting down the seconds it took for Peter to return (bloody hell; it was well over four hundred, then again, she should have expected that what with the crowd there) and after accepting her Butterbeer with a tight lipped smile (damn you James Potter for getting her all worked up) she took a sip before stating that she needed to use the loo.

It took quite a bit of manoeuvring for Lily to get out of the booth, as she was stuck in the middle of the boys, and by the time she did get out, Lily was positive that James had been waiting outside for nearly ten minutes. She thanked her lucky stars that the pub was packed with throngs of people which meant that within seconds she was just another face amongst the crowd and no one saw that she veered left instead of right.

The wind nipped at her nose and ears as she stepped out. Main Street was fairly empty, probably because of the weather Lily thought. She craned her neck and searched among the few faces for the familiar head of messy hair and specs. A disembodied arm shot out of nowhere and grabbed her around the waist, pulling her into the adjacent alley.

Her elicited scream was caught in a searing, hard kiss and sounded off in a wistful sigh once she recognized the familiarity of his mouth. She threaded her hands through his hair and he gripped her hips as the Invisibility Cloak slipped off. The kiss broke and he looked down at her.

"Took you long enough, Evans," he said, leaning to kiss her again.

Lily laughed; it came out slightly muffled due to James' attempts. "Did you not see how packed it was in there?"

James hummed noncommittally, and tugged on her scarf, as it was obscuring his view of her neck. "Still, it was long. And cold."

She grinned, pressing her body against his suggestively. "I think we can fix that." Her hands, which were still tangled in his hair, pulled his head down and their lips met in another kiss.

The wall of the alley was cold against her back, the feeling contrasting against the warmth that radiated from James' body. His hand skimmed up the curve of her torso to cup her jaw before it lost itself in the curls of her fiery hair. Lily nipped his lip teasingly and tilted her head back to explore a different angle. They kissed for who knows how long, sometimes venturing from the others mouths, leaving a trail of blazing kisses in their wake. (Lily was glad she had her scarf.) Wherever he touched her caught on fire, while snowflakes landed on their burning skin and got caught in their hair, creating frigid rivulets that helped them remember in their haze that they were outside, in public and anyone can see the at any given moment. For some strange reason, it just made this all the more thrilling.

When they finally parted for good, both were breathing heavily and were flushed. Lily managed a breathless grin and asked innocently, "Warm now?"

James dropped his head to her shoulder and absentmindedly placed a few more kisses there before responding. "Only just."

She laughed, and coaxed his head up to kiss him again, only to be interrupted by the sound of voices filtering in to the alley.

"... Bloody wankers they both are, leaving us there as they went gallivanting off to who knows where," came the unmistakeable voice of Sirius Black. Various calls of acquiesce were given by Remus and Peter as they carried on with their conversation. James snatched up the invisibility cloak and threw it over the two of them, pulling Lily closer.

"Necessary?" she asked, cocking an eyebrow.

James grinned. "Lots. It can get quite draughty underneath here. Need to keep warm and all love."

"Tosser."

"Be that as it may," he dropped a quick kiss to her lips again. "You still like me."

"Merlin knows why," she teased.

"I can make you a list, but it might take several days," he explained as his eyes glittered.

Lily hit his chest. "_Arrogant_ tosser," she corrected.

"What say you to us going back up to the castle and I can show you one of the many reasons why you like me Evans. After all," his grin turned mischievous. "It's still cold."

She laughed, but nonetheless allowed herself to be taken back to the castle while James listed out reason after reason why she liked him.

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**_You know the drill by now. Or at least you should._**


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